human trafficking - Blog - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-28T12:50:23Z
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/feed/tag/human+trafficking
One of the cruelest human traffickers in the world: Crime boss Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/one-of-the-cruelest-human-traffickers-in-the-world-crime-boss-kid
2023-01-06T09:50:00.000Z
2023-01-06T09:50:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10483937652?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Eritrean national Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam is one of the world’s most notorious and cruelest human traffickers, according to Dutch authorities and Europol, which have placed him on their most wanted criminals lists.</p>
<p>Habtemariam runs several refugee camps in Libya. One of them is located in the town of Bani Walid, 180 kilometers southeast of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. It is filled to the brim with thousands of migrants fleeing war, poverty or both. Upon entering Habtemariam’s camp, the refugees realize they went from bad to worse.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10483938068,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10483938068?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“I’ve seen people die”</strong></span></p>
<p>A young man who stayed at one of his camps recalled: “It was awful. You are beaten until you’ve paid for your journey. They hit our wet, naked bodies with a cable or stick, which causes the skin to shed.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/black-axe-how-nigeria-s-mafia-group-went-global-and-became-an-int" target="_blank"><strong>Black Axe: How Nigeria’s Mafia group went global and became an international criminal powerhouse</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“I’ve seen people die,” he continued. “When one person did something that wasn’t allowed, Habtemariam would punish all of us. By starving us, for example.”</p>
<p>At that time, the man in question was just 14.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10483938096,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10483938096?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="300" /></a>“Ghost town”</strong></span></p>
<p>Others have testified about these brutalities as well. Habtemariam was linked to assaults, kidnappings, rapes, and murders. His camp in Bani Walid, which is actually a warehouse guarded by gunmen, became known as the “ghost town” among refugees since so many of them disappeared after arriving there.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-18-gangster-museum-in-south-africa-run-by-ex-convicts-tells-c" target="_blank"><strong>The 18 Gangster museum in South Africa run by ex-convicts tells cautionary tales of life of crime and violence</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Habtemariam lived in a house across from the camp. Keeping an eye on and at times taking part in all the torture and rape that went on there.</p>
<p>When he did help migrants make the journey to Europe, many died during the trip, he and his gang would extort the survivors upon arrival. They would need to pay up if they wanted their relatives to arrive in one piece, he told them.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Bribing oneself out of prison</strong></span></p>
<p>Authorities in Africa were on his trail. He was found guilty by an Ethiopian court of extortion, kidnapping, and torturing migrants to death in Libya. But in February of 2021, Habtemariam escaped from custody at a courthouse in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. It is alleged he bribed the right people, enabling him to simply walk out the courthouse without anyone stopping him.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-modern-day-pimp-toronto-boss-operated-dozens-of-illegal-asian" target="_blank"><strong>The Modern-Day Pimp: Toronto boss operated dozens of illegal Asian brothels in US, Canada, and Australia</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>In October of 2021, Europol and Dutch authorities placed Habtemariam on their most wanted lists after his name popped up in an investigation into a large-scale human trafficking network operating from the Netherlands.</p>
<p>After taking advantage of the chaos in Libya, Habtemariam has proven adept at not just surviving but thriving under pressure. He operates in an area of the world where lawlessness is the rule of the land. Dutch or European laws hold no weight there.</p>
<p>One can only hope that karma catches up with Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam. You reap what you sow. In his case that would mean vicious violence ending with death.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE</strong></span>: Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam was arrested on January 1, 2023, during an international police action in Sudan. He is currently detained in the United Arab Emirates. This arrest is the result of a money laundering investigation by the United Arab Emirates. The Netherlands will request his extradition so it can try him on charges of human trafficking and extortion.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime">Black organized crime</a> section on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Authorities seek “Scorpion” of Nottingham, the people smuggling boss convicted in Belgium
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/authorities-seek-scorpion-the-people-smuggling-boss-convicted-in
2022-11-17T07:16:02.000Z
2022-11-17T07:16:02.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10885704699?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Iraqi national Barzan Kamal Majeed, nicknamed “Scorpion” after his WhatsApp avatar, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October for people smuggling offences at a court in Bruges, Belgium. He himself wasn’t present as he was still on the run.</p>
<p>The 36-year-old Iraqi, formerly of Nottingham, England, was also fined €968,000 euros.</p>
<p>Authorities are working hard to track down Majeed, who they see as the head of an organized crime group that attempted to smuggle more than 100 migrants to the United Kingdom in small boats and lorries.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/one-of-the-cruelest-human-traffickers-in-the-world-crime-boss-kid" target="_blank"><strong>One of the cruelest human traffickers in the world: Crime boss Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>A warrant has been issued for his arrest, and investigators in Europe are now appealing for information regarding his whereabouts.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>From Nottingham to Kurdistan<br /> </strong></span></p>
<p>Majeed moved to the United Kingdom in 2013 and lived in the Hucknall area of Nottingham, where he is understood to still have connections. He was deported from Britain in 2015 to the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq. </p>
<p>The Belgian prosecution followed a joint investigation involving British, Belgian, Dutch and French law enforcement into 31 separate attempts to smuggle migrants into the United Kingdom between July 2018 and November 2019 using small boats, lorries and shipping containers.</p>
<p>Many of the migrants encountered had Majeed’s number stored in their mobile phone under the name “Scorpion”.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Associates</strong></span></p>
<p>The investigation had already resulted in the UK conviction of fellow crime group member Nzar Jabar Mohamad, 35, last year. He was jailed for 10 years at Hull Crown Court in October 2021 after admitting attempting to bring 21 migrants to the UK using lorries and small boats. He also boasted of smuggling hundreds of women using the same method.</p>
<p>A further 23 people were charged by the Belgian authorities this year, including three who were arrested in the UK by the National Crime Agency and extradited to Belgium.</p>
<p>Seventeen were convicted and jailed for a total of 32 years during the same hearing as Majeed’s. Six were given suspended prison sentences. Mohamad was also given an additional two-year sentence and fined €272,000 euros by the Belgian court.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>